Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie
Dimon, together with Central Park Conservancy President Douglas Blonsky and
Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe today announced a $1 million donation from
Chase to the Conservancy to restore and replant areas of Central Park that were
devastated by the severe storm on August 18, 2009. Also on hand was Thomas
L. Kempner, Jr., Chairman of the Central Park Conservancy's Board of
Trustees. The Mayor recognized the efforts of several Conservancy staffers
who worked tirelessly after the storm to secure and remove damaged trees and
reopen the very damaged northern third of Central Park. At the Great Hill - one
of the areas most damaged by the August storm - Mayor Bloomberg, Mr. Dimon, Mr.
Blonsky and Commissioner Benepe planted a 12 foot-tall sapling to kick-off the
restoration process funded in part by Chase's donation. Thirty local
students from Thurgood Marshall Academy and the Young Women's Leadership School
of East Harlem took part.

"The August thunderstorm ripped through the city,
causing some of the most extensive damage to Central Park in modern memory,"
said Mayor Bloomberg. "During the three weeks that followed the storm, Central
Park Conservancy and Parks Department staff and volunteers worked around the
clock to clear the debris. Their dedicated work and this generous gift from
Chase will allow us to complete almost all of the post-storm restoration
projects that we still have left to do in Central Park."

"New York City is the heart of our operations, and
Central Park is the heart of New York," said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO
Jamie Dimon. "JPMorgan Chase has been a steadfast supporter of the Park for
decades. There was no question; we knew we needed to move quickly to restore a
place that is such an integral part of New Yorkers' lives."

"The park is more than 843 acres of historic landscapes,
trees and water bodies. It's part of the fabric in the city and our lives," said
Doug Blonsky, Conservancy president. "When thousands of park friends saw the
storm's destruction, they were moved to help. So was Chase, a generous longtime
supporter of the park. With Chase's help, we will create new landscapes that
generations of park patrons will cherish as much as the ones we lost."

"In the space of half an hour on the night of August 18,
a powerful blast of wind devastated thousands of trees in New York City,
knocking down over 500 in Central Park alone. For a while, the north end
of Central Park looked like a logging camp," said Parks & Recreation
Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Thanks to the hard work of the Central Park
Conservancy, the road to restoration is well underway but much needs to be done
to replant the damaged areas while taking this opportunity to increase plant
diversity, encourage wildlife and improve the park's vistas. The City is
especially grateful to J.P. Morgan Chase for their extraordinarily generous
donation toward this effort."

The severe storm that tore through parts of Manhattan
the evening of August 18, 2009 destroyed more than 500 trees in Central Park
-some of them older than the Park itself. One thousand more trees were
damaged, and landscapes were devastated. Especially in the 275-acre
northern end of the Park, downed trees and limbs knocked over light poles, tore
through fences and destabilized soil. Conservancy crews swung into action
immediately, assessing the damage and beginning the arduous process of carefully
cutting down, stacking and chipping damaged trees. In the first three
weeks after the storm, the round-the-clock efforts of 26 tree crews dealt with a
majority of the damage. A staggering 90 metric tons of wood chips were
processed in that time.

Chase's $1 million contribution will restore lost
landscapes and plant new trees throughout the Park, especially in the areas of
the Great Hill and the Ravine, two areas most profoundly affected by the
storm.

Chase, through JPMorgan Chase and its Foundation, has
given over $100 million in financial support to non-profit organizations every
year in the last five years. In New York City, the bank has been a strong
philanthropic supporter of affordable housing, foreclosure prevention and
financial education efforts, in addition to significant investments in education
programs focused on early childhood literacy, middle school curriculum,
professional development and college access programs. The bank has a rich
history of supporting Central Park and activities in the park, dating back to
the first Corporate Challenge race held at the Park in 1977, and began its
support for the Central Park Conservancy within the first year of the
organization's formation. Today, Chase supports public cultural, educational,
and environmental programs in the Park such as the Harlem Meer Performance
Festival, the Urban Horticulture & Ecology Training Program, Camp Central
Park and the Catch & Release Fishing Program.